Kansas City, Mo. (June 20, 2003) -- After more than four decades in public accounting, two longtime partners from one of the first CPA firms to merge with H&R Block are calling it quits. Harry Jordan and Jerry Meiners, partners of Donnelly Meiners Jordan Kline, are retiring from the firm.
Jordan, who began his accounting career in the Kansas City office of Arthur Young & Co. in 1957, said the biggest changes in the profession he’s seen have been in technology, specialization and marketing. “When I went to DJMK, we did tax work, audits, bookkeeping, anything that needed to be done,” Jordan said. “Today, you have to focus on one specialty.”
Donnelly Meiners Jordan Kline was acquired by H&R Block Inc. in May 1998. In 2000, DMJK combined its operations with RSM McGladrey, the unit established in 1999 when McGladrey & Pullen sold its non-attest assets and business to Block.
“In the old days, marketing was done by who you knew and who you met and had lunch with,” he added. “Today, we have a marketing director, an assistant marketing director and two sales people at our firm.”
Jordan called merging with Block “a wonderful move.”
“Block was headquartered right here in Kansas City. We felt that if we were going to merge, we might as well do it with someone ten blocks away from our office,” he said. “We knew the firm. We were impressed with quality of people at top of the organization. In hindsight, it worked out well. They let us run our business. Although, it is an unusual feeling to see your name that had been on everything for 40 years here today and gone tomorrow.”
“We had merged other firms in with ours before we joined RSM McGladrey, and each had a little different way of doing things,” Jordan recalled. “When McGladrey came in, we were able to operate as one firm using their administrative abilities and skills and their manuals, their training and CPE. That got us all thinking more as one firm instead of three or four local firms in one office.”
Jordan is currently spending most of his time transitioning clients to others in the firm, but said he plans to spend his retirement traveling, studying photography and working with charities in Kansas City. Meiners will officially retire in September.
-- Melissa Klein
